May 2024 WNBA Thread, part II

[nwhoopfan]

Indiana about to put away Chicago, will be their 4th win in last 6 games. It's starting to come together for them. Clark looked REALLY good. A very efficient 23 points and nearly a triple double. All this recent talk about the ROY race is silly. It's Clark in a runaway. Whoever at ESPN ranked her 6th among rookies is hopeless.

 

[Blue Huskie]

IMO and after review neither rose to the level of flagrant. The second under the basket could've been called a foul but neither of the two visible refs had a good line of sight. Correct me if I'm wrong the refs can review for a flagrant but they cannot call a common foul on a review where no foul was called initially.

I have seen them call a common foul retroactively. They call it an "Unobserved foul". It surprised me when I saw that done.

 

[bbsamjj]

So with today's win, where Clark and Boston connection looked REAL good, the Fever are 5-10. But there's a big quirk in their schedule thus far:

Fever are 0-6 against CT and NY (the teams with two best records in league who are a combined 24-3)
They are 5-4 against everyone else.

Their next 3 games (home vs DC, at Atlanta, at Chicago) are also all teams they have previously defeated.

 

[nwhoopfan]

So with today's win, where Clark and Boston connection looked REAL good, the Fever are 5-10. But there's a big quirk in their schedule thus far:

Fever are 0-6 against CT and NY (the teams with two best records in league who are a combined 24-3)
They are 5-4 against everyone else.

Their next 3 games (home vs DC, at Atlanta, at Chicago) are also all teams they have previously defeated.

The other quirk in scheduling is that they played so many games out of the gate, twice as many as several other teams in the league. Now they've actually gotten a bit of rest and practice time between games.

 

[JDuro]

 

[nwhoopfan]

Aces signed Jessika Carter. Waived Emma Cannon.

 

[bballnut90]

Clark and Boston combining for 42 points, 22 rebounds, 13 assists, and 7 blocks on 16-24 shooting. Best they've looked together all season. Indiana as a whole looked really good offensively. Great ball movement and execution.

 

[GamecockFam]

Giving Lexie Hull more minutes is helping the Fever defensively. She was really good out there today and she also made a couple of shots. She is an offensive liability, but alongside Smith, Boston, Mitchell, and Clark she doesn't really need to worry about that being a part of her role on the team.

 

[bbsamjj]

Combined, KLS and Lexie Hull would be a perfect 3 and D. Unfortunately, only one of them is good at making 3s, and only one of them is good at playing D.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Oh sure, once I gave the Storm some credit they started losing again. Too much Copper and Griner today. And Loyd/SDS back to cold shooting, combined 9-30.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Dream ran away from the Sparks in Q4.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Giving Lexie Hull more minutes is helping the Fever defensively. She was really good out there today and she also made a couple of shots. She is an offensive liability, but alongside Smith, Boston, Mitchell, and Clark she doesn't really to worry about that being a part of her role on the team.

Amen. I will say, it made sense starting Wallace when Mitchell was out, for a second ball handler alongside Clark. But Wallace is a defensive liability alongside Clark and Mitchell, which means they have no great perimeter defense in their starting lineup. Hull does give them that, and is just credible enough a three point threat that you can't just leave her unprotected at the Wing. But it sure would it be nice if she got her college shooting touch back - I'd feel much more confident about her long-term staying power in the league.

 

[bbsamjj]

Noting that Griner has only played in 4 games for Phoenix, but since she's returned the Mercury are 3-1 (yes, 3 of those games were at home, but they were against Minnesota, Vegas, Seattle). In 4 games, Griner is averaging:

22ppg
7.8rpg
2.3apg
1.8bpg
And is shooting 63% from the field.

She is still ELITE.

 

[The deacon]

Amen. I will say, it made sense starting Wallace when Mitchell was out, for a second ball handler alongside Clark. But Wallace is a defensive liability alongside Clark and Mitchell, which means they have no great perimeter defense in their starting lineup. Hull does give them that, and is just credible enough a three point threat that you can't just leave her unprotected at the Wing. But it sure would it be nice if she got her college shooting touch back - I'd feel much more confident about her long-term staying power in the league.

Agreed re Mitchell, et al, The Farm Fan.

Re Lexie, she's got weaknesses. However, it seems in her third season, she's now well established as an asset for the Fever or, would be for lots of other teams that would love to have her if Fever management loses its mind.

 

[The deacon]

Noting that Griner has only played in 4 games for Phoenix, but since she's returned the Mercury are 3-1 (yes, 3 of those games were at home, but they were against Minnesota, Vegas, Seattle). In 4 games, Griner is averaging:

22ppg
7.8rpg
2.3apg
1.8bpg
And is shooting 63% from the field.

She is still ELITE.

And a truly positive sign for the U.S. Olympic team!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Caitlin fastest in WNBA history to 200 pts/75 reb/75 assists. For as much as people are trying to make it seem like she's struggling, she's doing pretty good.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Meanwhile, Caitlin took a flagrant 1 shot to the head from her friend Angel Reese.

I think that Katie Lou is 6-8 from deep in her last 2 games. Very efficient!

 

[Aluminny69]

I know it's early, but with 37% of the season completed, The Fever just moved into the eighth and final playoff spot. If they can hold it,, that would be a major accomplishment for them, especially after a very slow start, with little practice time.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Meanwhile, Caitlin took a flagrant 1 shot to the head from her friend Angel Reese.

I think that Katie Lou is 6-8 from deep in her last 2 games. Very efficient!

So far in Indiana's first 15 games KLS has only 3 turnovers and 18 assists. She has been guarding several bigs, when Boston and Smith have been in foul trouble. She sets more screens on the Fever then anyone on the team. They have run so few plays, to her, when she goes around screens. Her 3 pt shooting %, I believe, is near her highest in the W.

 

[bballnut90]

I know it's early, but with 37% of the season completed, The Fever just moved into the eighth and final playoff spot. If they can hold it,, that would be a major accomplishment for them, especially after a very slow start, with little practice time.

Sheesh that's pretty nuts considering how rough the season has appeared to be thus far. They have the worst point differential in the league by a wide margin. They're 0-8 vs. the top 4 teams but 4-1 vs the bottom 4.

 

[MilfordHusky]

So far in Indiana's first 15 games KLS has only 3 turnovers and 18 assists. She has been guarding several bigs, when Boston and Smith have been in foul trouble. She sets more screens on the Fever then anyone on the team. They have run so few plays, to her, when she goes around screens. Her 3 pt shooting %, I believe, is near her highest in the W.

Lou is shooting 43.1/45.5/90.9.

She is 4th in 3-point percentage among players with 6+ attempts (Lou is 20-44). KMac leads the league at 49.5%.

 

[The deacon]

Lou is shooting 43.1/45.5/90.9.

She is 4th in 3-point percentage among players with 6+ attempts (Lou is 20-44). KMac leads the league at 49.5%.

Impressive, MilfordHusky. Pretty much the shooting numbers she had at UConn...

Katie Lou had become a very competent pro after a tough, injury-plagued start, perhaps mostly because of her development as standout in European ball. Having a baby definitely slowed her career, but she seems to have found her niche again. I see her as a coach some time in the fairly near future, but love watching her play as long as she's able.

 

[JellyBean]

Combined, KLS and Lexie Hull would be a perfect 3 and D. Unfortunately, only one of them is good at making 3s, and only one of them is good at playing D.

So spot on!

 

[JellyBean]

Oh sure, once I gave the Storm some credit they started losing again. Too much Copper and Griner today. And Loyd/SDS back to cold shooting, combined 9-30.

I feel the same way. I show the Storm some love and they go out and play mediocre against Phoenix. Hats off to Phoenix especially Copper and Griner. When they are in the zone like yesterday, nobody is beating Phoenix. They just have to get into that zone.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Indiana about to put away Chicago, will be their 4th win in last 6 games. It's starting to come together for them. Clark looked REALLY good. A very efficient 23 points and nearly a triple double. All this recent talk about the ROY race is silly. It's Clark in a runaway. Whoever at ESPN ranked her 6th among rookies is hopeless.

https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1802725047842320788

From the Tweet
On the basketball front.

Aliyah Boston's touches per game:

1st five: 54.6
Next five: 61.4
Last five: 61.8

Post-ups

1st 5: 4.6
Next 5: 3.8
Last 5: 8.2

15-10-3 over her last five.

Just uh .. something worth keeping an eye on.

 

[cancontent]

https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1802725047842320788

From the Tweet
On the basketball front.

Aliyah Boston's touches per game:

1st five: 54.6
Next five: 61.4
Last five: 61.8

Post-ups

1st 5: 4.6
Next 5: 3.8
Last 5: 8.2

15-10-3 over her last five.

Just uh .. something worth keeping an eye on.

Duly noted

 

[azfan]

I feel the same way. I show the Storm some love and they go out and play mediocre against Phoenix. Hats off to Phoenix especially Copper and Griner. When they are in the zone like yesterday, nobody is beating Phoenix. They just have to get into that zone.

So far that zone appears to be the Footprint arena. It will be interesting to see if they can extend this zone to the road

 

[cancontent]

 

[Bigboote]

That gives the Wings effectively a three-guard rotation. Hope Lou gets plenty of minutes. Sheldon might really shine, too.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Impressive, MilfordHusky. Pretty much the shooting numbers she had at UConn...

Katie Lou had become a very competent pro after a tough, injury-plagued start, perhaps mostly because of her development as standout in European ball. Having a baby definitely slowed her career, but she seems to have found her niche again. I see her as a coach some time in the fairly near future, but love watching her play as long as she's able.

I believe that Lou started for both Seattle and L.A. and played pretty well. Then she missed a year due to pregnancy. She is getting re-acclimated now.